Back In Action : Revised
by Inferno792
Summary: After he loses the Kalos League after coming so close, Ash Ketchum decides to train his Pokemon alone without any help. After he gets a letter from a friend, he is coming back to face the world once again. How strong has he become and what other challenges await him? Rayshipping(Ash X Cynthia)/Amourshipping(Ash X Serena)?
1. Back In Action

_**Back In Action**_

* * *

><p>Greninja and Goodra fell on the ground with a loud thud, bruises all over their bodies. Both of them laid on the middle of the field, unmoving and unconscious with swirls in their eyes.<p>

"Greninja and Goodra are both unable to battle. This round is a draw."

With the announcement of the referee, the whole crowd erupted into loud cheers. The cheers were not because that battle was turning out to be an amazing one. The battle was indeed one of the best one would ever see but the crowd was excited because it was now time for both the trainers on the field to reveal their final Pokemon. The entire stadium appeared to be packed, as one would expect for a regional League finals. People from all over Kalos and other regions had come to watch what turned out to be a great match so far.

After the cheers died down a bit, the MC took his queue and announced. "That was an amazing battle folks - worthy of being a part of the Kalos League Final. Now we anticipate the last Pokemon of our two finalists, Ash Ketchum and Alain."

On one side of the battlefield stood a 16 year old raven-haired young man, wearing a blue coloured shirt, dark blue jeans and a red hat. Ash Ketchum was finally battling in the finals of a Pokemon League. Closer than ever to achieving his dream of becoming a Pokemon Master, Ash appeared to have a determined look on his face as he recalled his trusty Greninja to his Pokeball. He looked confident but somewhere inside, he was also nervous. The trainer came well prepared for the battle but as it had happened so many times in the past, he feared that he might lose again. Brushing those thoughts away, he After thanked Greninja for a well fought battle and unclipped a Pokeball from his belt.

"Pika pi." Pikachu cheered, standing beside Ash. He had already fought in the battle. After defeating one of Alain's Pokemon, Pikachu fell in his battle against Mismagius.

Standing on the other side of the field, a tall man who appeared to have blue hair and wore black trousers, unbuttoned black jacket with a blue undershirt too, recalled his Goodra and readied his final Pokeball.

"Trainers, choose your last Pokemon." The referee called out.

The crowd suddenly fell silent. Everyone in the stands now anticipated the last Pokemon of the two exceptional trainers, who were battling it out to win the Kalos League. These two had dominated the entire League winning most of their battles with relative ease. Only a few trainers gave them a good fight. Others didn't stand a chance.

Alain looked at Ash and smiled. He really seemed to be enjoying the moment. He didn't expect a challenger this strong in the Kalos League. "You've given me a great battle, Ash. I didn't expect any less from a trainer like you." Changing his expression to a serious one, he added. "But now, it's time for me to use my strongest Pokemon."

Ash stared at the Pokeball in his hand with a smirk. Like Alain, even Ash had saved the best for last. Resting in Ash's Pokeball was a Pokemon he'd caught in his early days as a Pokemon trainer. It was by far Ash's strongest.

Looking at Alain and Locking eyes with him, Ash chuckled. "The battle is probably one of the best I have ever had. It's time for my final Pokemon to come out too."

Glancing one final time at the Pokeball in their hands, the two trainers threw their Pokeballs on the field. "Charizard, let's go!" They both yelled in unison.

The Pokeballs snapped open in mid-air to reveal two large, orange dragons, who landed on their respective trainers sides with a ground-shaking roar. "RAAAAWRRRR!"

The roars of the two magnificent dragons were so strong that they blew dust from the field to all parts of the stadium and the spectators had to shield their eyes with their hands.

When the dust cleared,the spectators could now see the two Pokemon who appeared to be almost the same size and were of course from the same species. They burst out once again, and this time the cheers were even louder and with more energy and excitement. The crowd knew that they were in for a heck of a battle. Not just the two Charizard seemed strong, they had something on that got some of the spectators to gasp.

Amongst the spectators, there were many of Ash's friends who came to watch the finals of the Kalos League. Among them were Misty – The Cerulean City Gym Leader, Brock – The Pokemon doctor in training, Tracey – Professor Oak's assistant, May and Dawn – The two co-ordinators, Max – May's younger brother, Alexa – the journalist, Bonnie, Clemont - The Lumiose City Gym Leader, Serena – The Pokevision trainer and of course Professor Oak and Ash's mother, Delia Ketchum. Even Professor Sycamore was watching the battle from the stands. He seemed to be unable to support one of the trainers as he knew both of them very well.

Dawn and Brock came to see Ash compete in the Kalos League from the start, while May, Max, Tracey, Misty, Professor Oak and Delia arrived for Ash's final match after they heard that Ash reached the Semi-finals.

Many of his friends, rivals, Gym Leaders also watched the battle live on television.

The Manager of the Pokemon League, Mr. Charles Goodshow, The Kalos Chamion Diantha, the Kalos League Elite Four and surprisingly even The Sinnoh League Champion Cynthia was present to watch the final match of the Kalos League. As they noticed the rings on both the Charizard, they could tell that this battle would be special; one for the history books.

"I can't believe it folks! The final battle of this year's Kalos League Final will be between two Charizard!" The MC yelled through the microphone and after observing the two dragons for a few moments, he continued. "And from the looks of it, these two Charizard are no ordinary Charizard."

After taking in the brilliance of the two Flame Pokemon, the referee finally called. "Begin the battle!"

"Charizard, start things with Flamethrower." Alain ordered in his usual, calm voice.

He seemed confident, but so did Ash. He knew that he couldn't let Ash get the edge in this battle. A trainer who pushed him so far could even defeat him if he was not careful. Alain's Charizard obliged as it released a red-orange stream of flames from its mouth and aimed it at Ash's Charizard.

Ash, not to be left behind also told his Charizard to make a move. "Charizard, use your own Flamethrower."

As soon as Ash's Charizard heard the command, he opened his mouth and released a stream of hot fire at his opponent, which collided with Alain's Charizard's Flamthrower. The force of the two attacks blew all kinds of dust into all the directions of the stadium. The referee was almost knocked off his feet due to the force of the two attacks.

"What power!" The MC screamed in awe. "These two have just demonstrated how strong they are. I can assure you that this will be a battle that none of us will ever forget."

The crowd were on their feet, some cheering on Ash's Charizard while others cheered Alain's. They seemed to be enjoying every moment of it. One thing they were sure of was that the battle would only get better as time went on.

"That's one fine Charizard you've got there Ash. I have got to admit that it's strong." Alain commented, looking at Ash with new found respect for the raven-haired trainer.

"Your Charizard's pretty strong too, Alain. Now let's see how it handles this." Ash said as he pointed his finger at Alain's Charizard. "Charizard, attack it with Dragon Claw."

"Raawrr!" He roared and without wasting a moment, Ash's Charizard flew up and charged towards Alain's, his claws enlarged and glowing with draconic energy.

Alain smirked at Ash, as he raised his hand and commanded to his own Charizard. "Charizard, show them your Dragon Claw."

Obeying its trainer's command, Alain's Charizard too, roared and flew at Ash's Charizard at top speed with its glowing claws.

Both the Charizard met each other in mid-air as their glowing claws struck each other, which sent shockwaves throughout the noisy stadium. Both the Charizard used all their strength in an attempt to overpower the other but their strengths were still equal as they both pushed each other back towards their respective trainers.

"These two are evenly matched so far. Their attacks are perfect." commented an excited MC.

* * *

><p><em><strong>The VIP Box<strong>_

"These two are extremely strong trainers, wouldn't you agree?" The President of the Pokemon League, Charles Goodshow questioned, as he leaned further to get an even better look at the heated battle in which both the Charizard were clashing with each other with their Steel Wing attack.

The Kalos Champion, Diantha spoke, impressed by the two finalists. "They sure are. I knew there was something special in Ash, even when I first met him."

The others in the group except Cynthia nodded. Cynthia was too caught up watching the battle to even notice what was happening around her. Even her Ice-cream started to melt.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Battlefield<strong>_

Ash's and Alain's Charizard appeared to be standing on their trainer's side after using another Dragon Claw attack. The battle was getting intense as time went on, both the Charizard slowly but surely getting tired. If this continued for too long, the dragons surely would get worn out.

Alain realized that it was time to move on. There was no point in continuing a battle which could get no result. Calmly observing Ash and his Charizard, he spoke. "Ash, I think we both know that this battle is going nowhere. Why don't we both use our full strength." He raised one his arms to show his black coloured Mega Ring to Ash.

Ash smirked at Alain as he himself showed his blue coloured Mega Ring to Alain. "You know, I was just waiting for you to say that. Let's do it."

Touching the Key Stone in his Mega Ring with his other hand, Alain spoke with confidence. "Key Stone, respond to my heart. Beyond evolution. Mega Evolve!"

Just then, orange beams of energy appeared out of Alain's Key Stone and made their way to his Charizard. Some blue beams came out of Alain's Charizard's Mega Stone, both the beams connected and Charizard glowed and it's shape began to change.

Soon, in place of Alain's Charizard stood a blue and black dragon with blue flames flowing from it's mouth. The whole stadium watched in awe as Alain's Mega Charizard roared. Everyone in the stadium appeared to be stunned as the stadium fell silent.

"This is Mega Charizard, my Charizard's Mega Evolved form." Announced Alain, as his Mega Charizard X landed right in front of him, showcasing it's amazing new form.

"That's an awesome Mega Charizard, Alain." Ash complimented his opponent's dragon as he gazed at it in admiration. Getting back to his senses, he added. "But my Charizard's just as awesome. Show them your true power. Charizard, Mega Evolve!"

As soon as Ash touched the Keystone on his wrist, beams of energy flew towards his Charizard as orange coloured beams seemed to appear from Charizard's Mega Stone.

When the two beams connected, Charizard glowed brightly as he began to change his shape too. After the light died down, Charizard's Mega evolved form flew up high and roared sending shockwaves all around.

Ash smiled at Alain and stated. "Meet my Mega Charizard Y. It's the Mega Evolved Form of my Charizard."

Mega Charizard Y now appeared to have an extra horn on his head. His wings and tails were also longer.

Seeing the two magnificent Mega Evolved Pokemon, the stadium erupted once again and the noise was louder than ever before. Everyone in the stadium was yelling cries of 'Charizard' or 'Mega Charizard'. Even the Elite Four of Kalos, along with the Champions and Charles Goodshow couldn't help but compliment the two awesome dragons on the battlefield.

The MC was speechless for a couple of minutes. He just couldn't believe what he saw. The two different forms of Mega Charizard at one place was a sight to behold. Gathering himself, he began. "I can't believe what I am seeing. This will be a battle between two different Mega Evolved forms of Charizard. Its….It's the first time I am seeing either one of them and believe me, you won't see the two forms of Mega Charizard together again."

Suddenly, the sun turned bright making everyone ponder in thought about the sudden weather change. The bright sunlight made it difficult for the viewers to see what happened on the battlefield. It was like the Sun had somehow come closer to the Earth.

* * *

><p><em><strong>In The Stands<strong>_

"Oh, how did the sun suddenly become so bright?" asked Delia in a worried manner, shielding her eyes with her hands in an attempt to protect them. She didn't know the Kalos region to have so much heat. Of what she'd heard, the Kalos region's weather was supposed to be pretty cool.

Fearing for her skin's safety, Serena screamed. "I wasn't prepared for this kind of sunlight. My skin might become dry and tan!"

Ignoring them, Brock began to speak. "It's like the move Sunny Day." He kept a finger to his chin in thought. He too seemed confused.

Deciding to finally open his mouth, Max asked "But which Pokemon would use Sunny Day? It wasn't used by Ash's or Alain's Charizard. It doesn't really matter though. Mega Charizard X and Mega Charizard Y are so awesome." His glasses shined as he said the last part excitedly.

Hearing the complaints and questions around him, Professor Sycamore decided to explain to the group what he knew about the sudden change in the weather. "It's Ash's mega Charizard Y's ability - Drought. Drought summons sunlight and increases the power of Fire-Type moves. Only two Pokemon are known to possess this rare ability; The Legendary Pokemon, Groudon and Mega Charizard Y."

Professor Sycamore's explanation made lots of people who heard it gasp in surprise.

"And Ash is also the first ever trainer to own a Mega Charizard Y. The Mega Stone on Ash's Charizard is the only stone discovered to Mega Evolve a Charizard into Mega Charizard Y."

Turning to the direction of the voice, everyone in the group saw the majestic Champion of Sinnoh, Cynthia walking towards them.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Battlefield<strong>_

Ignoring the noisy stadium, Alain kept his calm. Even though, he couldn't believe that Charizard could Mega Evolve into two different forms. He always thought that Charizard could only Mega evolve into the form that his Charizard took after Mega evolving. His inner self got ecstatic at the thought of battling another Mega evolved form of a Charizard.

"Let's begin the battle, Ash. You've shown how strong a bond you have with your Charizard. Mega Charizard X, use Flamethrower."

"Mega Charizard Y, intercept it with your own Flamethrower." commanded Ash without hesitating.

Both Mega Charizard opened their jaws and released their respective Flamethrowers. Mega Charizard X released a stream of blue flame while Mega Charizard Y released a huge stream of red-orange flames. The Flamethrowers collided, creating a massive explosion and the aftershock of which left the whole stadium trembling. The power of the two Flame Pokemon left the crowd scared. This was a battle of such magnitude that they'd never seen.

"The power of Mega Evolved Pokemon; it's amazing! These two Mega Charizard are giving us a battle for the record books. And I have got information that the bright sunlight is due to Ash's Mega Charizard Y's ability called Drought." Announced the MC.

"Dragon Claw, Let's go!" Alain's Mega Charizard's claw became enlarged as it flew towards's Ash's Mega Charizard Y.

Sensing the danger, Ash quickly ordered in a high tone. "Charizard, dodge and use Dragon Pulse at maximum power!"

Just when Alain's Mega Charizard X was about to hit him, Mega Charizard Y flew up avoiding the attack. Forming blue coloured, swirling energy in his mouth, Charizard released a huge, blue beam of energy at Alain's Mega Charizard X, who was too late to dodge and the Dragon Pulse hit it dead on causing a lot of damage. The blue dragon cried in pain as he fell to it's knees. Alain clenched his fists in frustration while Ash smiled.

"Great job, Charizard!" Ash yelled in joy as he was so close to victory that he could almost taste it.

"Pikachu pi." cheered Pikachu as he took a boxing-like stance. He too realized that the dream they thrived so hard for over the years was now within their grasp.

Thinking that it was the perfect opportunity to finish off the battle, Ash decided to make full use of the chance he saw. "Charizard, finish it Seismic Toss."

Dashing towards Alain's Mega Charizard X, Ash's Mega Charizard Y took hold of it and flew high up in the sky, in order to perform his signature finishing move. The crowd became even noisier as Charizard started to circle around in the air. They could sense that the last part of this match would be the best.

Even in the heat of battle, Alain was able to maintain his composure. He knew his Pokemon's strengths and weaknesses, especially his Charizard's. "Mega Charizard, Dragon Rush at full power."

It didn't take long for Alain's Mega Charizard X to get hold of himself and respond as it was soon surrounded by blue draconic energy which formed a dragon and covered both the Charizard. The dragon surrounding the Charizard crashed roughly on the ground with a massive thud. Everyone in the stadium including the two finalists watched curiously as the dust started to clear to reveal Alain's Mega Charizard standing and Ash's Mega Charizard Y struggling to get up.

"Charizard!" Ash yelled at the top of his lungs, clearly worried about his Pokemon's health.

"Pika pi." uttered Pikachu in a low tone as he saw one of his closest friends struggling on the battlefield.

Finally mustering the power to get up, Ash's Mega Charizard roared, which made the crowd explode, excited that the fight would continue.

"Alright Mega Charizard X, let's finish this with one last Dragon Claw!" Alain shouted loudly.

"Mega Charizard Y, we will end this with Dragon Claw too." Ash commanded his Charizard with determination.

Following their trainers, both Mega Charizard charged at each other with enlarged and glowing claws. Their claws collided with each other, causing a crater to be formed on the field. They put all their power into the attacks as they tried to overpower the other. Neither of them gave an inch; both mustering all the power from their bodies. They wanted to win this; win this for their trainer. Tey didn't care if they got seriously wounded or even died in the battle. After reaching so far, they didn't want to disappoint anyone who counted on them.

"And these two are showing us once again that they are evenly matched. Will we even get a winner from this battle?" questioned the MC as the crowd kept cheering on.

"Ash" Alain called and continued. "You've made a huge mistake by making your Mega Charizard Y use it's Dragon Claw against my Mega Charizard X. That mistake will be fatal."

Ash pondered in thought about what Alain meant by that for a few moments and then it struck him. It was Mega Charizard X's ability – Tough Claws. Tough Claws powered up all the moves of Mega Charizard X which made physical contact and that meant only one thing – his Charizard was in trouble.

"Charizard, get out of there." Ash called frantically, fear evident in his tone.

Alain smirked at Ash. "Too late. Mega Charizard X, give it all you've got!"

Just then, Mega Charizard X's claws brightened even more as it slashed Ash's Mega Charizard Y and Ash's fear turned to reality. He roared in agony as dust engulfed the entire battlefield.

Ash could only hope that his Charizard would be okay. He clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. How could he forget something so important?

The dust finally began to clear to reveal Alain's bruised and beaten up Mega Charizard X standing and Ash's normal, devolved Charizard on the ground, unconscious with swirls in his eyes.

For minutes, there was silence in the entire stadium. No one even uttered a word.

Ash froze. He couldn't believe what just happened. He was so close to achieving his dream, but he couldn't. Only one question ran through his mind. 'Why couldn't he win?' He worked so hard to train his Pokemon before the Kalos League. He even trained for Charizard's Mega Evolution, but in the end, it was all for nothing. He had let them all down, again. What could he do to get stronger? Only thoughts of getting stronger roamed throughout his mind.

The silence in the stadium was broken by the referee as he snapped out of the admiration of the incredible battle that ended just now. He raised the green flag in his right hand. "Ash's Charizard is unable to battle. The winner of the match and the Kalos League is Alain."

The crowd erupted into cheers once again after hearing the referee.

Ash finally snapped out of his trance. Even though he'd lost, he wouldn't run away from it. Just as he raised his gaze, he saw Alain walking forward. Ash too walked towards the latest Kalos League Winner.

"That was an amazing battle Ash." Alain complimented, offering his hand for a handshake. "You could say I won by luck. The battle could have gone either way."

Ash looked up at the taller trainer as he shook Alain's hand. Even though he lost the Championship after coming so close, he didn't feel too bad about it. He knew that he had to try harder next time and he would do just that.

"No Alain. It wasn't luck. You were just a better trainer than me." Ash replied as a smile made its way to his face. Seeing the sportsmanship of the two finalists, the crowd cheered them on. These two were great trainers indeed, but even better human beings.

The Award Ceremony started after a few minutes with loads of fireworks. Mr. Goodshow presented Alain with his winner's trophy and the trainer was proud to win the League, especially after being challenged in the final by a guy like Ash. Ash too was presented a trophy, albeit smaller than Alain's.

* * *

><p>Ash and his friends now sat at the dining table in a restaurant near the stadium. Everyone seemed to be enjoying their dinner peacefully except for one raven –haired young man. Ash was so hungry after his battle that he was stuffing his mouth with everything on the table. Cynthia, who'd joined them for dinner just stared at the boy's table manner with a look of surprise on her face. She wondered where all that food went since Ash was so lean. May, too ate like an elephant but she wasn't nearly as fast as Ash.<p>

As expected, Ash finished his food before everyone else. He appeared to be in deep thought. Many ideas ran through his mind. Each one of them was about how he would train his Pokemon so he wouldn't lose the next time he competed. It seemed like he finally figured it out as he smiled.

"Hey guys." Ash called out. "You understand that I need to train right?" His statement seemed to have caused everyone in the room to stop eating. They all gave him strange looks. Most of them almost knew what he was going to say. With a sad looking smile, he continued. "I think I need to go out and train all by myself. All these years, with Brock, Cilan and even Serena to taking care of me, I haven't been able to develop into a good enough trainer. I have disappointed you guys again. So I have decided that I will leave tomorrow with all my Pokemon so I could train them as well as myself."

His little speech had earned him quite some stares. His mom had a distraught look on her face. "But Ash you just finished your journey in Kalos. Don't you think a month of rest would be good?" she asked.

"No mom. I have wasted enough time as it is. I think it's time for me to move on." Ash replied.

He stood up from his seat and with Pikachu perched on his shoulder and ready to go, Ash turned round and marched out of the restaurant. "I'll see you guys soon. I have to get ready. Bye!"

All his friends just stared at the door. They knew that once he made up his mind, nothing could change it. They appeared to have a sa expression on their faces, only hoping for one thing : To see their friend again soon.

And the next day, he left. He left to get stronger. Even though Delia appeared worried and sad, she was proud of her son. Her little Ash was finally growing up into a man.

* * *

><p>A young man stood at the cliff, the cool, pleasant morning breeze blowing his raven hair. He intently gazed at the piece of paper in his hand as a yellow rodent jumped up on his shoulder. "Hey Pikachu!"<p>

"**It's time to be back in action!"**

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><p><strong>So, how did you like the change behind the reason of Ash leaving? Since the reason why he left has been changed, I'll have to alter a lot of events happening in the next three chapters. I'll add a couple of them soon to this story, though.<strong>

**Hope you enjoyed!**


	2. Knight Arrives

**_Knight Arrives_**

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><p><strong>Before you read, I would like to tell you that there are not many changes in the chapter except for a few. I removed a few scenes which showed how Ash ran away and also, I combined chapters 2 and 3 since the 3rd chapter was too small in the original. If you've already read the chapter before, you could just go through the main events to get a feel of the changes(which I feel aren't many). But if you're a new reader, you should take your time and read it patiently.<strong>

**_To the readers of my fic 'The Prin_****_ce of Kalos', I'd like to say that I am 1 k words through with the second chapter. I have most of the chapter planned so you should expect an update on the fic by this weekend._**

* * *

><p><strong><em>Speeches :<em>**

"A" – Normal Human Speech

'A' - Thoughts

* * *

><p>The sun shined brightly over a large island surrounded by ocean as flocks of Pidgey, Pidove, Starly, Taillow and Fletchling flew across the land, chirping merrily as another new day started on the island of Ostford.<p>

Ostford was an island located between Kanto, Sinnoh and Kalos. It was a beautiful place with a large variety of different Pokemon from different regions.

The population of the island wasn't much, but it was known for it's stadium which held many magnificent tournaments in the past, but the most prestigious of them all was the legendary tournament named the 'The League Of Champions'.

The League of Champions used to take place every five years until someone planted bombs inside of the stadium, which caused a lot of destruction. Even though no lives of either Pokemon or humans were lost, the tournament was called off, never to take place again since that incident 30 years ago. The motives of those bombers are still unknown as the police was never able to find out who planted the bombs inside of the stadium.

Many ships could be seen docked on the port of Ostford with crowds of people getting down from them. The best Pokemon trainers from all over the world would be here and hence, no one would miss a chance to see them in action.

* * *

><p>Somewhere amongst the crowd, a young boy with oxford blue hair and black eyes screamed. "I can't believe it! We're here. We're here!" He appeared be around 5'4", wearing a green T-shirt with white collar, brown pants, brown sneakers and big, black glasses.<p>

"Wait Max. Stay with us or you'll get lost." Yelled a brunette with beautiful blue eyes, wearing a red-orange sleeveless t-shirt with black collar, black bike shorts, black socks, red and white sneakers along with a yellow waistpack. May appeared taller now and even her features seemed to have grown. Her body was in as good shape as ever. But May wasn't the only one who'd grown.

The young boy now identified as Max turned around and gave her sister an annoyed look. "Look May," he started as he raised a finger up in the air. "I am now 14 years old and I can very well take care of myself. I am a full fledged Pokemon trainer now. I am not the little know-it-all brat you used to know." He stood proudly with both his hands on his hips.

Hearing Max's explanation of how he was a much more mature boy now, a tall guy with tanned skin and brown, spiky hair smiled. "So you admit that you were a little know-it-all brat all those years ago?" asked an amused Brock, who stood besides Dawn and Misty, who both giggled.

Brock was now a fully qualified and well known Pokemon doctor but he still wore his orange and grey vest, green shirt and light brown pants and blue sneakers while travelling. It was true that Max had grown and matured, but there still were some things that never changed.

"Yay I can't wait to see all the Pokemon." A blonde girl with blue eyes, who wore a dark brown shirt with a black ribbon on the chest, white skirt, black shorts, and pink shoes cheered as she ran around the crowd of people in excitement.

Panting heavily, a boy with similar hair to the girl's ran slowly towards her. His outfit consisted of a blue and yellow jumpsuit, round glasses, and black and white shoes. "Bonnie,…. Wait up!" he called, extending his hand.

Brock, May, Dawn, Misty and Max were just standing nearby when they heard two familiar voices.. Turning around to check who it is, the group recognized the two as Clemont, the Lumiose City Gym leader and his sister, Bonnie.

"Hey Clemont, Bonnie!" Misty called out getting the attention of both the siblings. She wore yellow sleeveless top, blue shorts and orange shoes and was taller with longer hair coming down to her shoulders and more seemed woman-like than in the past.

Like everyone else, the two siblings were now taller and their features, more grown.

Looking over at them and then adjusting his glasses, Clemont questioned. "Hey, isn't that Dawn, May, Brock, Misty and Max?"

"Yeah. They sure are. Hey guys!" Bonnie waved, running towards the group enthusiastically, happy to see everyone.

In their short time together during the Kalos League, everyone became great friends as they found something or the other in common. The girls especially, Serena, Dawn and May became best friends because of their similar views in fashion and clothes. Bonnie and Max both were the same age and they both wanted to be Pokemon trainers as soon as possible at that time, so that made them great friends and they often discussed which Pokemon they caught after they became trainers.

"Where's Serena." Dawn asked exuberantly, checking around to see if she could spot one of her best friends. "If you guys were invited, I would think Serena would be too." She was wearing her usual dress which is mostly black with a white undershirt inside a V-shaped neck with a short pink skirt along with a white beanie, golden hairclips which kept her long, blue hair in check and pink knee-high boots with black socks.

"I don't know, Dawn. I haven't heard from her in a while." Clemont replied shaking his head.

"Well, this is the most prestigious tournament in the world. Just look at the crowd. I bet most of them are only spectators." Brock stated changing the subject, as he gazed across the port, especially the pretty girls that were present.

Noticing this, Max and Misty shook their heads and both spoke in unison. "He hasn't changed." This made everyone except Brock, who was still admiring the girls burst into laughter.

Just then, Max suddenly snapped "Hey, isn't that one of the Sinnoh Elite Four members – Flint?" asked Max as his glasses shined in admiration.

Following Max's gaze, Dawn started. "Yeah it is." Putting both her hands around her mouth, she shouted. "Hey Flint, over here!"

Flint was standing alone near the port, as if he was waiting for a ship to arrive. When he heard his name being called by someone, he turned towards the source of the voice. Flint narrowed his eyes to have a closer look as he noticed a few familiar faces. "That's right! You guys are Ash's friends, Dawn and Brock. How've you been? And where's Ash? I would think that he would be here too." He walked towards everyone, waving in his fiery fashion.

"You don't know?" Brock asked. He seemed a bit surprised that Flint didn't know that Ash had been gone for 5 years now. He thought that since Cynthia knew that Ash left, she must have told at least the Sinnoh Elite Four about it since Ash knew all the four pretty well and had made a good reputation in front of them. "Cynthia didn't tell you that Ash left to train on his own after the Kalos League 5 years ago?"

"Oh yeah." He responded, putting a hand on his chin. Thinking back, the Fire Type Elite Four member remembered about that. "She did mention that but I expected him to be back by now."

Looking at Brock's facial expression, he got his answer. He knew how close Ash and his friends were and he understood how badly they must be dying to see him again. And indeed, they would do anything to just get another glimpse of his face.

"So he still hasn't come back yet, huh?" Flint asked to which everyone shook their heads.

"It's alright. We'll talk about it later. So, you're going to enter the tournament?" Brock asked as a smile made his way to his face.

Smirking, Flint replied. "Yeah I am. In fact most of the regional elite fours and Champions have been invited. But as you know, there's still a while to go before the tournament so everyone hasn't arrived yet. It's their choice whether to enter or not though." Pointing his finger towards the ship that just came into view, he spoke. "I am just here to receive one of my close friends, who wanted to watch the tournament."

By now, Bonnie was getting really impatient. She wanted to explore the island and see some new Pokemon and even catch a couple if she got the chance to. "Hey Clemont, lets explore the island already." Bonnie cried, dragging her brother's hand.

"But we have to drop our bags first." Clemont replied.

"Why don't we go to the Pokemon Center near the stadium and then explore. We still have a few days until the tournament begins. We did arrive here pretty early." Suggested Brock to which everyone agreed.

With that, everyone walked to the Pokemon Center together, discussing about their adventures. They had been in contact but not so much so they had lots to talk about, especially Max and Bonnie, who kept on discussing about the Pokemon they caught and argued about whose Pokemon are stronger and cuter.

* * *

><p>Finally reaching the Pokemon Center, they entered it and it didn't take Brock long to rush to Nurse Joy and hold her hand. "O My dear Joy, will you give me the pleasure of… AAAAAA!" before he could finish his statement, Brock was attacked by his Toxicroak's Poison Jab. He grabbed Brock by the butt and took him out of the Pokemon Center, somewhere only he and Brock knew.<p>

Misty and Max were ready to take away Brock but they realized that they no longer needed to do it themselves.

Walking to Nurse Joy, the group showed Nurse Joy their passes and asked for their took a while for Clemont to get his pass out since he thought that he had lost it. Finally, Nurse Joy scanned their passes in the computer and replied. "Your rooms are in the Hotel no.2 next to the stadium."

"Hey Nurse Joy. Can you scan my pass and tell me where my room is?" said a familiar voice towards another of the counters in the massive Pokemon Center.

Looking towards the counter where the voice came from, the group saw Gary Oak, one of the leading Pokemon researchers standing there.

"It's Gary!" Said Brock, who suddenly appeared from behind, creeping everyone out.

Gary turned his head towards the group as a huge grin appeared on his face. "Hey, you guys." He greeted.

Nurse Joy had finished scanning Gary's pass as she placed his pass as well as his room key on the counter. "Here's your room key, Mr. Gary Oak. Your room is in the Hotel no.2 next to the stadium." After taking the key and thanking Nurse Joy, he made his way to his friends who were all happy that another one of their friend's was here.

"So are you going to take part in the tournament, Gary?" Max asked the brown haired researcher.

Putting one of his hands in his pocket, Gary replied. "I am not sure about that, Max. I might take part in the tournament but my main objective for coming here is to observe the different types of Pokemon that the trainers will be having, especially, the Pokemon belonging to the Elite Four members, Champions and Frontier Brains."

"Don't you think it's cool that you get to fight these guys in the tournament." Max excited spoke, but soon, his face fell as he realized something. "But…. But I still can't enter."

May, pointing out a finger started. "That's because there is a requirement that a trainer must have at least 5 years of experience in Pokemon training. That's why you're not eligible to enter. It's a pretty fair rule I guess." She smirked.

"Anyways, let's talk later. I am really tired after the trip." Gary suggested and everyone agreed. They were all pretty tired after their journey to Ostford island and a little rest would do them a world of good. Of course, there were Bonnie and Max, who protested but their older sibling just dragged them to the hotel.

* * *

><p>Ash stood on the edge of a cliff near his house at Mt. Silver, wearing a black shirt, black jeans, blue coat over the shirt, black gloves and had a blue hat in his hands. His hat wasn't completely round, it was shaped more like an Aura Guardian's hat. The raven-haired trainer appeared a good 6 feet 2 inches tall, and his body was well toned. After all, his Pokemon weren't the only ones he trained during his years of solitude. The 'Z' marks that were on his cheeks had now disappeared completely. His skin was fair, his face cleanly shaved and his raven hair just a little bit shorter than in the past. Staring blankly at the night sky, memories were flooding through his mind. He pondered about how much all his friends might have changed. Even though Ash didn't want to reveal his true identity to his friends too early, he was definitely looking forward to see them again and this tournament was the perfect setting for it.<p>

Ash kept staring into the sky for several minutes until he took a deep breath. "No use overthinking about it." He said calmly and put back his blue, round hat. "Let's go, Pikachu."

"Pika pi."

* * *

><p><strong><em>Ostford Island<em>**

"It was your idea to take that left." screamed Iris, putting her hands on her hips. "Why did you have to come with us, idiot?" Her outfit hadn't changed since she travelled with Ash all those years ago, only longer but her body surely had changed since those days.

Offended at this, Barry exploded. "It was your idea for me to come with you guys till the stadium, not mine. If you scream at me again, I am going to fine youuuu."

"Now, now Barry and Iris. Calm down! It's not like we're late for the tournament or anything." Cilan stated trying to calm the angry trainers. He was another guy like Brock who didn't change much over the years, still wearing his white shirt, black vest and black pants.

*Thud*

Suddenly, a running girl crashed into Cilan and fell down. "Oops, sorry about that" The girl apologized, getting up from the fall.

"It's all right." Cilan replied with a smile as the girl returned it.

Running behind her, Clemont yelled. "Don't run like that, Bonnie."

"Yeah, listen to your brother." Misty shrieked, running behind them.

When the entire group caught up with Bonnie, they saw Barry, Iris and Cilan, their friends from Sinnoh and Unova.

"Hey, Iris, Barry, Cilan." Dawn screamed in excitement, recognizing the three as she took Iris into a hug.

After greeting and introducing the ones that were not familiar with Iris, Cilan and Barry, Brock told them that they were having a look around the island.

"So, why don't you guys come along with us? We just arrived yesterday so we haven't done any exploring yet." Brock asked the new trio

"Friends roaming around the island together makes for a great recipe." Cilan as usual, sang on which everyone sweatdropped.

"Here we go again." Iris said with an irritated look on her face.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Elsewhere on the island<em>**

A tall young girl wearing a red top with black collar and full black sleeves, a long, red skirt which came down to her knees, a red hat which had sunglasses on top, black knee length sock and black shoes was looking around in the woods on the Ostford island. She appeared to have honey coloured hair which ended just above her waist.

"Great. I am lost, again." She said, annoyed as she struggled again to find her way. 'What am I gonna do now? I can't stay in this forest for too long.'

She started walking through the woods, knowing nothing about them. The silence in the forest scared her a bit. Just then she tripped. As she tried to get up, she felt pain surging through her left leg.

"Ouch" she screamed in agony.

Her loud scream had caught the attention of someone, who was now heading her way. As soon as Ash saw the girl on the ground, he froze. 'It's Serena.' He thought to himself. 'She hasn't changed but yet, she seems so….. _different_."

Making his way to the injured Serena, he quickly took out a handkerchief from his pocket, knelt down and covered Serena's wound with his handkerchief. While Ash did that, Serena just kept staring at Ash's face which was covered by his hat, not able to recognize who he was. But something inside her told her that she could trust this stranger.

"Does it still hurt?" Ash questioned, facing Serena who was just staring at him blankly. His voice was much different than what it was like in the past.

Snapping out of her trance, Serena shook her head. Ash offered Serena his hand which Serena took and in an attempt to stand up, she fell into his arms, just like the first time they had met in the summer camp. This made the girl blush. She tried to comprehend Ash's face but his face made her nervous. Not wanting to be discovered, Ash quickly looked the other way and stood up, letting go of Serena.

"The wound isn't serious. You should be able to walk." With that, Ash started walking, not yet ready to face the people who he had left behind.

"Wait." Serena spoke with uncertainty in her tone. "Can you… Can you tell me the directions to the Pokemon Center. I am lost." She looked towards the ground, not wanting to make eye contact with the new guy.

Ash stopped walking and looked behind from his shoulder. After a long, hard look at Serena, which made the girl tense up, he spoke. "Follow me."

Ash and Serena had now been walking for around 15 minutes. Ash's face was covered by his hat and Serena couldn't read the part of his face which was visible. She just kept staring at him as they walked. And again, she somehow tripped.

"Ahh." She groaned. The wound on her left leg opened up during the fall, which was really hurting her.

Hearing her moan, Ash stopped and turned around to see Serena on the ground. Without uttering a word, he walked up to her and tried to help her up. But this time, she wasn't even able to stand up.

Ash bent down and picked her up, bridal style. At this, Serena blushed, her face getting beet red. She hesitated as she complained. "What… What are you doing?"

"I have no choice. I'll have to carry you." Ash replied.

Hearing no reply from Serena, he spoke again. "Or do you have any better ideas?"

She shook her head frantically, not wanting to be left alone in the forest.

'She's gotten heavier.' A small, almost invisible smile came across Ash's face.

Ash started walking and Serena again couldn't keep her eyes off Ash's face. His face reminded him of someone. Someone very important to her, who was no longer with her. She even thought his scent was similar to Ash's.

'Could he be Ash?' she thought as she gazed at his face. 'But Ash would have recognized me by now and he doesn't even have a Pikachu. It can't be him. I must be thinking too much.'

* * *

><p><strong><em>In the Pokemon Center<em>**

"Which of the Elite Four and Champions are going to be here, Scott?" asked an excited Max to Scott, who wore a sky blue shirt and white shorts.

"What would be the fun if I told you already?" Scott smirked, looking at the disappointed Max.

Just then, someone entered the Pokemon Center. No one in the group noticed this but Ash's entrance didn't go unnoticed by Scott. Ash carried Serena, who was still in his arms, over to Nurse Joy, in order to get some medicine applied to her wound.

"So, you've finally arrived, Knight!" Scott called, walking towards Ash with a huge grin, which made everyone turn their gazes to the entrance of the Pokemon Center.

Ash remained silent as he observed the group of people standing in front of him. Seeing his friends after this long, Ash felt nostalgic. They were the best of his friends with whom he'd gone through a lot. Each one of them reminded him of the awesome adventures he went on during his early years as a trainer. He could never forget the time he spent with them as he considered those days, the best days of his life.

"Hello, Scott!" greeted Ash blandly, ignoring the quizzical looks he got from his friends, at least he thought they were.

Scott didn't expect Ash to be here so early. Of course, he was almost certain that he would come. The owner of the Battle Frontier would lose his title as 'The Inducer', if Ash didn't participate in the League of Champions.

"I didn't expect you to arrive here so soon." Scott smiled, finally taking notice of the girl Ash carried, when he turned to face him.

Everyone else saw Serena too, who appeared to be sleeping peacefully in Ash arms. They were surprised to say the least. Why was Knight carrying Serena? They had never heard of Knight from Serena. In fact, they didn't know that a guy with such a strange name even existed.

Scott asked Ash the question that was floating in everyone's mind. "I believe you brought one of my dear friends along with you." He smirked. "I wasn't aware that you two knew each other."

Looking at Serena in his arms, Ash turned around and walked to the sofa nearby. He bent down and carefully placed Serena on it, not waking her up from her slumber. "I don't know her." He said calmly. "She was lost in the woods and injured her leg so I carried her here. That's all!" With that, he marched to the door of the Pokemon Center as the door opened. "See you around, Scott."

Just as Ash exited the Pokemon Center, another guy with purple hair walked in. They both turned to look at each other for a brief moment, before continuing on their way. Ash recognized the man as one of his rivals. But Paul failed to do so. Paul reminded Ash of the times he travelled all throughout Sinnoh with Dawn and Brock. He let a small chuckle as he found himself lost in the memory of those times.

"Hey there, Paul!" Barry ran towards Paul, getting his attention as he recognized Dawn and Brock from the huge group of friends. "So, you're here for the League Of Champions too?" he asked, leaning at the purple-haired trainer.

Paul observed the group of strangers. He didn't know most of them. The only ones he recognized were Dawn and Brock. But as unsocial personality, he didn't care about who they were. He only had one reason for coming here : To participate in the League of Champions and go as far as he possibly could.

"Of course. Every Pokemon trainer here has come to participate and I am no different." Paul answered.

With that said, Paul made his way to the counter to get himself registered.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, Brock walked over to where Ash had placed Serena. Removing the handkerchief, he observed the wound briefly, before removing an ointment from his pocket. He gently rubbed the ointment on Serena wound, which caused her to moan.<p>

"Ouch!" she screamed, waking up from her sleep.

As the pain gradually decreased, Serena could see her friends around her, which made her smile. "Hey, you guys!" she greeted, merrily. "It's so good to see you all."

Dawn and May wrapped Serena in a warm embrace. They were finally together after a long time and they wanted to enjoy each other's company. They already decided that they would go shopping the next day.

"Where's that guy?" Serena asked exuberantly looking in different directions of the Pokemon Center in search of Knight.

Dawn and May both giggled. "Do you mean your Knight in shining armour who brought you here?" Dawn poked Serena in the waist, making her blush. The honey-haired Performer then remembered how the guy reminded him of Ash.

After an hour, everyone sat comfortably in the Pokemon Center, doing their own things. Paul had joined the group after Barry insisted him to.

Max and Bonnie discussed about their Pokemon when suddenly, Max excitedly screamed. "Lets have a battle to see which one of us is stronger!"

Bonnie, equally thrilled about the idea replied in delight. "You're on!"

They were talking so loud that everyone in the massive Pokemon Center, including the Nurse Joys looked at them in surprise.

* * *

><p>The two young trainers stood on opposite ends of a clear, barren land near the Pokemon Center. In the middle stood Gary, who volunteered to be the referee for the battle. He wanted to see the two energetic young trainers in action. In fact, not only him, but everyone wanted to see how much they had grown since last time.<p>

"This battle between Max and Bonnie will be a one-on-one battle. The battle will end when either one of the trainers' Pokemon are unable to battle." Raising both his hands, Gary announced. "Begin!"

Both, Max and Bonnie, enlarged their Pokeballs and threw them onto the field.

Emerging from Max's Pokeball , a huge bipedal Pokémon with black and silver metal plates stood tall on his trainer's side. The Pokemon appeared to have two iron horns and claws.

"Agggg-ron!" roared the Iron Armor Pokemon.

On the other side of the battlefield, Bonnie's Pokeball snapped open and a quadruped, dinosaur-like Pokemon came out of it. The Pokemon appeared to have a blue colored back, with a lighter blue underside.

Aurorus too, yelled "Ruuur!"

"Aggron, start with Metal Claw." Max ordered.

Aggron's claw glowed white as it charged towards Aurorus, in an attempt to slash it with its claws.

"Use Aurora Beam on Aggron, Aurorus." Countered Bonnie to which her Aurorus responded by creating a glowing energy beam in its mouth. After a moment, the Tundra Pokemon launched a multi-coloured beam at Aggron, who defended itself by slashing it's Metal Claw into the Aurora Beam.

* * *

><p>Watching the battle, Clemont commented. "Those two seem to be even."<p>

Brock kept a hand on his chin, evaluating the battle intently. "But still, Max has a huge advantage based on types." Brock always remained the wisest of the group. With the amount of knowledge he had about Pokemon, he could even become one of the great Pokemon experts if he wanted to. But he like many other of his friends, followed his dream to become a Pokemon doctor.

* * *

><p>Pointing her index finger towards the Armor Pokemon, Bonnie called. "Aurorus, now use Ancient Power."<p>

Arourus' whole body glowed white as the glow turned into a silver ball in front of it's mouth. It aimed the ball at Max's Aggron.

"Aggron, intercept with Stone Edge!"

Aggron formed multiple pointed stones and surrounded itself with them, before launching the attack at Aurorus' Ancient Power. The two attack collided and were almost cancelled out but a few stones managed to hit Aurorus causing some super-effective damage.

After a hard fought battle between the two Rock Types, both the Pokemon launched their last attacks; Aurorus using an Ice Beam while Aggron used Iron Head. And here's where Brock's statement came true. The type advantage Aggron had over Aururus determined the fate of the battle as Aggron charged through the Ice Beam and hit the Sail Fossil Pokemon full on with its Iron Head.

"Aurorus is unable to continue. Aggron wins and the winner is Max." Gary announced.

Bonnie looked at her fallen Pokemon with a smile on her face. Even with a type disadvantage, her Pokemon battled well and she was proud to be its trainer. On the other side, Max too recalled his Pokemon, who appeared to be panting heavily, clearly exhausted from the battle.

"You two have really gotten stronger in the past few years." Brock commented as he walked to the two teens, with a grin on his face. They reminded him so much of Ash, whom he considered like a younger brother.

"Yea Bonnie. That was an amazing battle." Clemont complimented his sibling, with a smile. "You were great as well, Max."

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, somewhere in the bushes nearby, 2 humans and two Pokemon also watched the battle with interest.<p>

"It seems the twerps have been training hard." Said a woman, having long, crimson hair and blue eyes.

A man standing next to her, who appeared a little taller than her replied. "Perhaps, they are not twerps anymore."

"Let's report this to the boss!" suggested a small cat-like figure. His friends nodded and they instantly left, without making even the slightest bit of sound.

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for reading.<strong>

**I would like to mention that Ash's skin colour is fair in this story like it was in the OS and not tan like in XY.**


	3. League Unleashed

_**League Unleashed**_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Speeches :<strong>_

"A" – Normal Human Speech

'A' - Thoughts

* * *

><p>Ash had retrieved each one of his Pokemon from Professor Oak's lab before leaving to train. He wanted all of his Pokemon to be at their best when he returns. Now, on Mt. Silver, all of Ash's Pokemon stood in front of him, most of them surprised by their trainers choice, but none of them complained.<p>

Ash gazed at his huge group of Pokemon and began. "Everyone, I am sorry that we lost the Kalos League." The creatures remained silent, intently listening every word he said. "But now, I have decided to train in my own way. We will journey the whole world and train ourselves to battle and survive in any condition. And you won't be the only ones training. I will train alongside you."

All of his Pokemon shouted in agreement. Pikachu jumped up on Ash's shoulder and licked his trainer's face, while the other smirked, ready to give it their all.

In the 5 years of seclusion, all of Ash's Pokemon gave it their all in training. They went through many hardships but together, they overcame them all. They trained in the harshest of weathers; in the worst of snow storms, in the hottest lavas, in the deepest of deserts, which in turn improved their endurance, strengthened their attacks and increased their stamina.

* * *

><p>Ash kept gazing at the Pokemon training in front of him. They appeared to be training hard, really hard but the sight wasn't unusual for Ash. His Pokemon trained that way all the time and they did it all for him. They did it because they wanted Ash to achieve his dream of becoming the best and they would be the best along with him.<p>

On the field, a yellow rodent with red sacks on its cheeks charged at a feminine-looking Pokemon, having a black body, white legs, green eyes and green hair. As Pikachu neared her with his Iron Tail, Meloetta, the Melody Pokemon released multiple high pitched, transparent rings from her mouth. The Hyper Voice caused Pikachu to stop in his tracks and the Iron Tail to fail.

On another part of the field stood a green reptilian, bipedal Pokemon having a large green tail and sharp, elongated leaves on its hands. Opposite Ash's Sceptile was a Pokemon with a green back with red spots on them. The spots on Typlosions rear emitted flames as he opened his large mouth releasing a red-orange stream of fire, aimed at Sceptile.

Standing confident, the seeds on the Forest Pokemon's back glowed white and he launched a barrage of leaves at Typlosions Flamethrower. Both the attacks met, and as expected, after briefly holding the Flamethrower, all the leaves were burned to ashes and the flames continued on their way to Sceptile.

But before the Flamethrower reached Sceptile, he dogged it gracefully using Quick Attack. Landing behind Typlosion, Sceptile formed a green ball of energy in his mouth and threw it at the Flame Pokemon, striking him dead on and covering him in dust. As the dust cleared, Typlosion appeared almost unfazed, taking minimal damage from the Energy Ball.

"Scep Sceptile" smirked Ash's Hoenn Grass Type starter.

"Phlooow!" replied Typlosion.

Suddenly, the four Pokemon heard an explosion and turned their gaze to the sight of the blast to see two bipedal dragons standing there. One of the dragons appeared to have lavender dorsal with two sets of antennae on top of its head with a pale green slime dripping from its chin and arms. The other dragon had orange skin, a long tail, two small antennae on its head along with two small wings.

The blast didn't go unnoticed by Ash. He started walking to his Pokemon, who all gathered right in front of him. "I think that's enough training for the day. We don't want to injure anyone now, do we?" he chuckled. "Let's go and have something to eat."

All the Pokemon cried in agreement, Pikachu and Meloetta both making their way to Ash's shoulders. Dragonite seemed so happy that he flew over and tackled Ash to the ground making Pikachu and Meloetta fall off his shoulders.

"Bouu Booou!" he yelled, licking Ash's face, who could only titter.

Dragonite had always been one of the most enthusiastic Pokemon of Ash's. Ash met Dragonite as a Dratini very soon after he left to train. The Dragon Type was starving when the trainer found him and Ash gave him some of his Pokemon food. Dragonite was so grateful for the food that he decided to capture himself in one of Ash's spare Pokeballs.

As for Meloetta, Ash met her in Unova during his journeys as a young Pokemon trainer. After Team Rocket's plans failed, Meloetta parted ways with Ash, but after a while, she really started missing him. When he decided to train in Unova for a while, Ash visited the forest of the Unova region, where he ran into Meloetta again but this time, Meloetta decided to come with Ash. The other Dragon type, Goodra was captured by Ash in Kalos.

* * *

><p>The sun started to set as Ash, now known as Knight, stood peacefully on Ostford island.<p>

After Ash left to train, a certain trio of Team Rocket found out that they had nothing else to do. They tried to capture Pikachu for 6 years, but never succeeded once. But now, Ash had left and they didn't have a goal. They were almost _useless_. Then they decided, that they will search for Ash at any cost. And after almost 5 months of searching, they finally found Ash, training in the deserts of Hoenn.

They approached him, not with the purpose of capturing Pikachu, but to ask him why left instead of journeying to a new region with his friends. When they heard his story, they wanted to help and the best thing they could do to help was to help him achieve his goal.

At first, Ash refused. But after tailing him for a month, they eventually managed to show him that they meant what they said.

"So Boss, what should we do now that the tournament commences tomorrow?" Jessie questioned.

Ash thought for a moment before replying. "You two should enter the tournament." He snickered. "It might be fun."

"That sounds good." agreed James. There seemed to be a tinge of excitement in his tone.

"I am leaving for the Opening Ceremony. Do you want to come?"

"We'll join ya later, Boss!" Meowth said, saluting Knight as he went on his way to the main stadium.

"Wobbufet!" exclaimed the blue Pokemon, who also saluted.

* * *

><p>The main stadium for the League Of Champions on Ostford island started to fill up as the time for the Opening Ceremony neared. Outside the stadium, many stalls lightened up were crowded by the spectators.<p>

Ash strolled through the crowd, scanning the various shops and stalls. In one of the stalls, he spotted a familiar face near a stall selling ice-cream and he instantly stopped. It was none other than the Champion of Sinnoh, Cynthia. Heading into the stadium, Ash was looking forward to seeing Cynthia again and here she was, trying to figure out which ice-cream she should have. Everyone walking by seemed amazed by the Sinnoh Champion's unusual demeanour.

Ash decided to have some fun with her. Adjusting his blue hat, he made his way to the ice-cream stall. Seeing her indecisiveness reminded him about the few times he had ice-cream with Cynthia, and man did she take her sweet time to choose a sweet ice-cream flavour.

"Can I have two vanilla ice-creams?" Ash asked the vendor, smiling as he watched Cynthia beside him. She was so busy that she didn't even notice Ash.

"Sure." The vendor replied. He picked up two cones, filled them with vanilla flavoured ice-cream and handed them to Ash. "Here you go!"

Paying the vendor, Ash took both the cones in his hands. He bent down and spoke sweetly in Cynthia's ear. "Hey Champion. Wanna have some ice-cream?"

Finally, Cynthia turned her head to face Ash, whose face was just inches away from hers. Of course, she didn't recognize Ash, but something inside her told her that she knew the guy. She stood up at her full height, just an inch shorter than Ash and replied. "But I can't choose which flavour to-"

Before she could finish, Ash offered her the ice-cream in his hand. "I think you might wanna go with vanilla."

Cynthia just stood there blindfolded. How did the guy know that she liked vanilla? Of what she remembered, she didn't know the man. Heck, she had never even seen him in her entire life.

Ash smiled seeing Cynthia in her trance. He waved the ice-cream in front of Cynthia, breaking her train of thoughts. "Do you want it or not?" he asked.

"Yeah, sure." She stuttered. "But, how did you know that I would like vanilla?" She asked, accepting the ice-cream from Ash.

Keeping his free hand in his pocket, he started to walk and Cynthia followed suite, eager to know the answer. Ash remained silent for a few moments. "Well." he started. "You could say that I am an admirer of yours." He raised his hat, giving Cynthia a peek at his face.

Ash's face made her cheeks turn a hue of crimson. "Admirer?" she inquired, staring at his face, which seemed a bit familiar to her, but she couldn't quite get whom this guy reminded her of.

"Yes." Ash confirmed the statement after putting his hat back in it's normal position. "I am a huge fan of your battling style."

The last statement of Ash's hit Cynthia like a bullet in her chest. She wished that he wouldn't have said that. Wait! What was she thinking? She's the Champion of Sinnoh. She shouldn't be thinking about what one guy thinks about her. Then why did she feel upset when a random stranger just told her that he is an admirer of her battling style, and not her beauty?

Meanwhile, the people standing by kept giving the couple strange stares.

"Hey!" Ash tapped her lightly on the shoulder, getting her attention. "You spaced out again."

Cynthia gave him a nervous smile. "Uh… Sorry about that. I had something on my mind."

"There's the entrance." Ash said as they reached the entrance to the main arena.

* * *

><p>They both entered the main arena together; Ash walking silently observing the stadium while Cynthia just tried to comprehend her strange behaviour towards Ash. While entering, Ash told Cynthia that his name was Knight. She tried to brainstorm her memory and she was sure that she never came across a guy named Knight.<p>

The main stadium appeared to be completely filled with people, most of them spectators while the others were participants. Everyone started taking their seat in the stands while the participants stood proudly on the battlefield. Champions and Elite Fours from every region could be seen, along with some of the most exceptional Pokemon trainers in the world.

In the middle of the arena, the stage was set for Mr. Charles Goodshow to give his speech for the Opening Ceremony.

The fireworks began to light up the sky as the chairman of the Pokemon league walked up on the stage and began. "Good evening everyone!" Goodshow greeted as the crowd exploded into cheers. When the cheers died down, he continued. "I am thankful to you that you have all gathered here for League of Champions. The Pokemon trainers participating in this tournament are the best trainers in the world. Not everyone is allowed to enter the League of Champions and rightly so, it's the tournament for the best. The total number of trainers entering the tournament is 288. The number of participants will be reduced to 128 after the Preliminary rounds that will begin tomorrow. The preliminaries will be one-on-one battles. As we progress into the tournament, the number of Pokemon each trainer can use will increase. In the top 128, all the battles will be 2-on-2 double battles. As for the top 64, a trainer can use 3 Pokemon each and the battles will be 1-on-1. In the top 32, the number of Pokemon each trainer can use will be increased to 4. And from Top 16 onwards, all the battles will be full 6-on-6 battles. I am sure every trainer participating has been given a booklet for the tournament. The match ups for the Preliminaries will be revealed tomorrow at 8.00 am and the matches will begin from 10 am. I would like to say that if you don't go too far in the tournament, don't be upset because the 288 trainers entering the League of Champions have already proved themselves to be the best by just getting the entry into the league. Also, I would like to thank Mr. Scott, the owner of the Battle Frontier for all the help he provided in organising the tournament. If not for him, the Legendary League of Champions might never have been revived. Scott pushed me to consider holding the tournament. He assured me that there would be enough protection this time so that the incident that occurred 30 year ago would not happen again. I wish all the participants good luck and I hope you enjoy the tournament."

The stadium erupted with excitement and the speech of Mr. Charles Goodshow had earned him a huge round of applause from everyone. This mega event was being broadcasted all over the world on television as well and undoubtedly, everyone must have been watching it.

As time passed, more and more people left the stadium. No one would want to miss the first battle of the preliminaries, which was scheduled to begin at 10.00 am in the morning.

Among the contestants, many of the trainers tried to make friends with one another. Cynthia and Ash still stood together until the Sinnoh Elite Four and Diantha walked towards them. Noticing the people coming to them, Ash decided that it was time to leave.

"I'll see you later, Cynthia." With that, Ash left.

"Wait." Cynthia tried to stop him but by the time she realized it, the trainer had already left.

The Kalos Champion approached Cynthia from behind. Keeping both her palms on Cynthia's eyes, Diantha said. "Hey Cynthia!"

Cynthia smiled, recognizing her friend from Kalos. "It's been a while, Diantha."

Cynthia turned around and hugged the Kalos Champion. "Who was the guy with you?" Diantha asked.

"Ahh.. Just a friend named Knight." The blonde answered without hesitation.

Diantha though, wouldn't buy that. Diantha and Cynthia knew each other since their early teens. Cynthia might have not known it, but she was gazing at Ash for the most of the opening ceremony and Diantha observed her friend for the entire time.

"Just a friend, huh?" The Kalos Champion smirked. "Well, the way you kept staring at him, he didn't look like just an ordinary friend to me."

At this, Cynthia blushed furiously. She was surprised by how much Knight affected her. "N- No. I wasn't!" She spoke in high pitched tone, in order to defend herself.

"Alright. Maybe it was just me seeing things. Anyways, I am really tired from the trip. Let's go our rooms."

Cynthia agreed to rest in their hotel rooms just as the Sinnoh Elite Four joined them. After a few chit-chats, they all decided that they should go to bed early, since they might have a big day tomorrow.

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Next Day<strong>_

The time on the clock appeared to be 7.55 am and everyone present in the main arena of the League of Champions awaited the revelation of the match ups for the preliminaries. Most of the trainers seemed nervous. Even the Elite Four and the Battle Frontier brains of Kanto and Sinnoh couldn't wait for League of Champions to commence.

The alarm rang when the clock showed 8.00 am and the faces of all the 288 participants began to appear on the big screen. The screen now showed all the battles that would take place in the preliminary rounds and everyone eagerly searched for their name.

Knight remained calm from the outside, but even he felt a tinge of nervousness. He scanned the large screen in search of his opponent and before long, he found his match up. Smirking, he started to walk his way out of the field. 'Let's see how much she's grown.' Knight was paired up against the Opelucid City Gym Leader, Iris. Their battle would commence at 12 in the afternoon in Arena 4 and Knight couldn't wait to begin fighting again.

Cynthia, too found herself on the screen. She'd been paired up against a trainer from Unova, named Jake. But she still kept staring at the screen as if searching for something. And finally, she found it. 'So Knight's first battle is against her. I hope for her sake that she is able to control her Dragon Types.'

Meanwhile, a group of trainers looked up at their opponents.

"Hey, isn't my opponent the guy who Scott called 'Knight'?" questioned the brown skinned girl, outing a finger to her chin.

Looking at the spot Iris was staring at, Serena, May and Dawn nodded.

"Yeah. That's him alright. I can recognize him anywhere." Dawn confirmed, nodding her head.

"It seems like you're the only one of us who has a battle today." Serena stated.

May crossed her arms and spoke with a serious expression on her face. "You better watch out Iris. That Knight guy sure seems strong."

"Don't worry. You don't know how strong I've become. I can't lose." Iris confidently said with a huge grin on her face.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Arena 4<strong>_

Ash, now known as Knight to the world, stood calm on one end of the field with an enlarged Pokeball in his hand.

On the opposite end of the battlefield, Iris stared at her Pokeball with a confident look on her face. She had improved in the last two years after she became the Gym Leader of Opelucid.

The stadium seemed electric. Soon the referee called. "The Preliminary battle between Knight and Iris will now begin. It will be a 1-on-1 battle with no time limit. Trainers ready?"

As both the trainers nodded, the referee raised both the flags in his hands. "Begin!"

Instantly, Iris and Ash both threw their Pokeballs on the field. The Pokemon from Iris' ball materialized into an orange dragon with small wings. Out of Ash's Pokeball emerged a bipedal, canine-like Pokémon, with blue fur possessing a round spike on each of it's forepaw.

"Bhouuu!" Iris's Dragonite roared, in an attempt to intimidate the Aura Pokemon in front of him.

Lucario though stood strong, slowly opening his eyes. This Lucario was the same Riolu that Ash met in Sinnoh and since then, the Riolu had quite clearly grown.

"You can have the first move." Ash offered.

"Sure." said Iris. 'Lucario is a Fighting and Steel type so fire types attacks will do a lot of damage.' She thought as a smirk appeared on her face. "Dragonite let's win this quickly. Use Flamethrower."

Dragonite took to the air and released a red stream of fire from his mouth, aimed at Lucario.

"Intercept with Metal Claw."

The spectators gasped at Ash's unusual strategy. Lucario, a Steel Type was weak against Fire Type attack and this mysterious trainer ordered his Pokemon to run into it. They kept their eyes keenly on the Lucario to find out Knight's strategy.

Hearing his trainer, the jackal charged forward with his claws shining white. He met the Flamethrower with his shining claws and to everyone's surprise, he split the flames in half. Dragonite didn't even have time to be surprised as Lucario him hard on the head, causing him to fall to the ground.

"Dragonite!" Iris yelled in concern for her fallen dragon. She couldn't believe how easily the Lucario countered the Flamethrower. Dragonite shakily got up on his feet, holding his head in his palms. There were a few bruises on his head due to the Metal Claw. Iris sighed in relief after she saw her Pokemon get up.

"Dragonite, use Dragon Rush!" she screamed.

The mythical Dragon roared as he jumped and his body got surrounded in a light blue orb. Soon, Dragonite released a dragon shaped energy that covered his whole body. With the huge dragon aura around him, he descended towards Lucario with full force and intentions to destroy him.

Ash remained still. He didn't even utter a word and his Lucario too didn't move until it looked like Dragonite's hit Lucario with his Dragon Rush. The entire battlefield became covered in dust and after a brief moment, Dragonite flew out of the dust, flying back to his trainer.

* * *

><p>"In the stands, Max got really excited seeing the Dragon Rush hit it's mark. "It looks like Iris has won this."<p>

"Seems so." May nodded.

On the other hand, Serena clasped her hands together. She might have been Iris' friend but she prayed for Knight to win the battle. She didn't know why but her heart told her to.

"I don't know. That Lucario seemed powerful. I have seen a few of them in my career as a Pokemon doctor but that one, it easily is the strongest Lucario I have ever seen." Brock commented as he waited for the dust to clear out.

* * *

><p>It's over." Iris claimed, with a huge smile on her face.<p>

"Is it?" Ash smiled at the cluelessness of the Dragon type Gym leader.

Iris couldn't quite understand what Ash meant. But her doubts were cleared when finally the dust cleared to reveal Ash's Aura Pokemon standing in the middle, unfazed and unimpressed.

The crowd remained still. They couldn't believe that Lucario dodged the attack. They were certain that they saw Dragonite hit him dead on. But the Lucario couldn't have taken a direct hit from Dragon Rush and still act as if nothing had happened or could it? Eventually breaking the silence, the crowd began to cheer. Even though it was just a preliminary match, the battle was amazing.

"But how? How did it dodge my Dragonite's Dragon Rush?!" Iris appeared to be shocked, seeing her Pokemon's best attack being useless.

Ignoring her, Ash called out to his Lucario. "Play time's over, Lucario. Use Extreme Speed and finish it with Aura Sphere."

Obeying the command, Lucario dashed at blinding speed towards Dragonite and even before he could react, the dragon was hit by a powerful Extreme Speed, which sent it crashing to the ground with a loud thud. Lucario's attacks didn't end there as he put his hands together and a blue ball of energy appeared between them. Immediately, the jackal Pokemon threw the Aura Sphere at Dragonite which smashed right into his gut as he screamed in pain.

"Dragonite, no!"

Iris couldn't believe what she saw. Her Dragonite was beaten without even scratching his opponent.

After observing Dragonite for an instant, the referee announced. "Dragonite is unable to battle." He raised the green flag towards Ash and continued. "Which means the winner of this match is Knight!"

Iris sighed in disappointment as she recalled her Pokemon to his ball. She'd been completely outmatched in the battle.

The stadium burst out with cheers for Knight. He'd owned this battle and remained in complete control of it throughout. This trainer was someone to watch out for.

Both the trainers walked in the middle and shook each other's hand.

"Your Lucario is really powerful. Maybe, if that Dragon Rush would have hit, the result of the battle could have been different." Iris stated with a half-smile.

"Well... maybe." Chuckled Ash.

* * *

><p><strong>I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Thanks for reading. As you might have noticed, again this chapter wasn't too much different from the original. I had originally planned on adding more description to the chapter but some sad news just turned me off. I didn't even write much about the story I am currently more interested in 'The Prince of Kalos'. I was all to complete the 2nd chapter for that story today.<strong>

**If you're from Australia, you must have heard about the devastating news about Phillip Hughes, an Aussie cricketer. He passed away earlier today due to an injury on the head he sustained on 25****th**** of November in a Sheffield Shield match in Sydney. Even with a helmet on, he was struck by a ball on the back of the neck and fell unconscious at the spot to never regain consciousness again.**

**It's really cricket's darkest day ever. He was just 25 years of age dammit and would've turned 26 on the 30th of the month. My deepest condolences to everyone close to him.**


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